Big White Ski Resort
Overview
Big White opened in 1963 with a single T-bar, built by Cliff Serwa and Doug Mervin on a mountain in British Columbia’s Okanagan Highlands southeast of Kelowna. Within two years skiers were already noting the mountain’s signature feature: rime-ice-covered subalpine fir trees near the summit, nicknamed “Snow Ghosts,” first spotted in 1965 and still one of the more visually distinct things about the resort today. Big White has since grown into the fourth-largest ski resort in British Columbia by terrain.
The current mountain carries a 759.0 m vertical drop between a 1,512.2 m base and 2,271.2 m summit, with 114 runs totaling 95.88 km — the biggest total-terrain number of the resorts covered here. Sixteen lifts move skiers around that terrain, including a gondola, ten chairlifts, a T-bar, a rope tow, and three magic carpets. The trail mix is unusually beginner-heavy for a resort this size: 29.32 km rated easy against 39.81 km intermediate and 26.49 km advanced, plus a small 0.14 km rated novice and a marginal 0.12 km logged as “other” terrain. The Gem Lake area carries the largest single-lift vertical drop on the hill, close to 710 m, and much of the wooded terrain between groomed runs is sanctioned for off-piste skiing rather than roped off. Measured as a share of the total, intermediate terrain makes up close to 42 percent of Big White’s runs, easy terrain just over 30 percent, and advanced terrain around 28 percent — a relatively even three-way split compared to resorts that lean more heavily toward one difficulty band.
Big White also runs one of the largest night-skiing operations in western Canada, lighting roughly 15 hectares of terrain, and the Telus Park terrain park, opened in 2004, added an Olympic-style snow-cross course to the mountain’s freestyle offering. The base village sits at 1,755 m and functions as a genuine slopeside town rather than a satellite lodging cluster, with condo hotels, around 18 restaurants, and vacation homes built into the mountain’s footprint — recognized by Statistics Canada as its own designated place.
Getting there is straightforward by Canadian ski-resort standards: Kelowna International Airport, the resort’s gateway, sits just 39.4 km away, with Penticton Airport a secondary option at 56.0 km and Castlegar/West Kootenay Regional Airport a more distant third choice at 106.8 km. Kelowna itself, a city of nearly 145,000, sits almost as close as its airport at 41.9 km, making it the resort’s obvious base for travelers who’d rather stay in a full-size city than at the mountain. Kamloops (104,460 people, 142.3 km) and Chilliwack (101,491 people, 226.2 km) are farther regional options, both well inside a day’s drive of the resort. Big White participates in the Indy Base Pass and Indy+ Pass, each granting two days per season, with the Indy+ tier dropping the blackout-date restrictions that apply to the base version — a meaningful add-on option for skiers who already hold one of those passes and want to work Big White into a broader Okanagan or interior-BC trip.
Key stats
Official website — Last checked 2026-09-14
Lifts by type
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| t-bar | 1 |
| gondola | 1 |
| rope tow | 1 |
| chair lift | 10 |
| magic carpet | 3 |
Runs by difficulty
| Difficulty | Distance |
|---|---|
| easy | 29.32 km |
| other | 0.12 km |
| novice | 0.14 km |
| advanced | 26.49 km |
| intermediate | 39.81 km |
Maps
View official Big White Ski Resort trail map (PDF) →
Run & lift overview
Big White Ski Resort: 130 runs, 16 lifts. Drawn from OpenStreetMap run and lift data — not the official Big White Ski Resort trail map. © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenSkiMap (ODbL).
Typical conditions by month
Monthly conditions data for Big White Ski Resort is not yet available.
Lift tickets & passes
- Indy Base Pass — 2 All-Day or All-Night tickets per resort; blackout dates apply (exact 26/27 holiday blackout dates not yet finalized as of verified_date)
- Indy+ Pass — 2 All-Day or All-Night tickets per resort, no blackout dates
Getting there
Nearest airports
- Kelowna International Airport (YLW) — 39.4 km straight-line
- Penticton Airport (YYF) — 56 km straight-line
- Castlegar/West Kootenay Regional Airport (YCG) — 106.8 km straight-line
Nearest cities
- Kelowna, British Columbia — 41.9 km straight-line
- Kamloops, British Columbia — 142.3 km straight-line
- Chilliwack, British Columbia — 226.2 km straight-line
Also covered by
Where to stay
A dedicated lodging guide for Big White Ski Resort is not yet available.
Nearby resorts
- Mt. Baldy Family Ski Area — 68 km straight-line, 387 m vertical
- Silver Star Mountain Resort — 70 km straight-line, 739.6 m vertical
- Apex Mountain Resort — 80 km straight-line, 566.6 m vertical
- Red Mountain Resort — 106 km straight-line, 882.1 m vertical
- Whitewater Ski Resort — 133 km straight-line, 669.8 m vertical
FAQ
- How big is Big White Ski Resort?
- Big White has a 759.0 m vertical drop between a 1,512.2 m base and 2,271.2 m summit, with 114 runs covering 95.88 km — the largest total terrain figure of any resort in this batch. Sixteen lifts serve the mountain, including a gondola, ten chairlifts, a T-bar, a rope tow, and three magic carpets.
- Is Big White good for beginners?
- Yes. Big White carries 29.32 km of easy-rated terrain, the largest easy-terrain total of its runs by difficulty, plus three magic carpets and a further 0.14 km rated novice. That's a substantial beginner base relative to the resort's overall size.
- Is Big White good for experts and advanced skiers?
- There's 26.49 km of advanced-rated terrain, and the Gem Lake area is known locally for the largest single-lift vertical drop on the mountain, at roughly 710 m. Big White's wooded terrain between marked runs also opens up sanctioned off-piste skiing beyond what's on the trail map.
- How much snow does Big White get?
- Big White has built its reputation on consistent, dry interior-BC snowfall, with the resort citing roughly 750 cm (about 300 inches) in an average season. Its 'Snow Ghosts' — subalpine fir trees encased in rime ice near the summit — were first noted by skiers in 1965 and have become one of the resort's most recognizable features.
- Which ski pass covers Big White?
- Big White is an Indy Base Pass and Indy+ Pass partner. The Indy Base Pass includes 2 All-Day or All-Night tickets per resort with blackout dates that can apply, while the Indy+ Pass also gives 2 tickets per resort but with no blackout dates.
- What's the nearest airport to Big White?
- Kelowna International Airport (YLW) is the resort's gateway airport at 39.4 km. Penticton Airport (YYF) is a secondary option at 56.0 km, and Castlegar/West Kootenay Regional Airport (YCG) is a further 106.8 km away.
- Is Big White good for a family ski trip?
- The resort's slopeside village sits at 1,755 m and includes condo hotels, roughly 18 restaurants, and vacation home rentals within walking distance of the lifts, which suits families who want to avoid driving to the hill each day. Big White also operates one of the largest night-skiing areas in western Canada, at about 15 hectares.
- Does Big White have a terrain park?
- Yes. The Telus Park terrain park, opened in 2004, added an Olympic-style snow-cross course to the mountain, supplementing the sanctioned off-piste tree skiing found between many of Big White's groomed runs.
Data sources
Last verified: 2026-09-15
Base facts from OpenSkiMap (ODbL), OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata (CC0), OurAirports (public domain) and GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). See /data-sources/.